So who is "this fat girl" writing this blog?
First of all, this fat girl is an English teacher (so expect occasionally long posts and embarrassment over editing errors). I love my job more than a normal person should. Besides the grading (which can, admittedly, suck), I would do my job year round and forgo my summer "vacation." And yes, "vacation" is in quotes because, as anyone who is in education can attest, we don't really get 3 months off in the summer and if you think we do then meet me by the bike racks and I will school you on the reality of a teacher's life :)
In addition to being a teacher, I'm also a daughter, sister, aunt (world's best if you ask me!!) and friend. I'm super lucky to have people in my life who are supportive and all-around awesome. You should know that I love my family. Sure, everyone says they do, but I really do love them. Like seriously love them. We're the kind of people who don't hang out with outsiders because we like each other so much. I can't tell you how many people in my life and my sisters' lives have commented on how close we are as a family. Everyone should have a family as awesome as mine. In fact, be jealous that you're not a member of my awesome family :)
So, I'm a teacher and member of the World's Best Family and I also have hobbies. OMG! Can you believe how well-rounded I am?? I'm really into books, embroidery, sewing (I'm still learning), and specific TV shows. Because of this, you'll probably see an occasional post about needle 'n' thread stuff, trashy romances, and LOST (I can't help it if LOST is the greatest TV show of all time).
But not of these things get to the crux of the title of my not-so-mini biography. This fat girl.
“This fat girl” is one of my favorite expressions. A student wants me to come help them and there are 3 backpacks and 4 computers cords in the aisle, what do I say? “This fat girl can’t get there you; you need to come to me.” Or someone offers a cookie, and what do I say? “This fat girl can’t say no to a cookie!” It never fails to elicit a laugh. Plus it always is
good for a surprise – no one expects you to make fun of your weight. In fact, I really identified with Fat Amy from Pitch Perfect, especially when, after being asked, "You call yourself Fat Amy?" she responded with the best answer in the world: "Yeah, so twig bitches like you don't do it behind my back." Oh, Fat Amy. You complete me.
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| Students are silly |
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| The World's Best Aunt and nephew |
In addition to being a teacher, I'm also a daughter, sister, aunt (world's best if you ask me!!) and friend. I'm super lucky to have people in my life who are supportive and all-around awesome. You should know that I love my family. Sure, everyone says they do, but I really do love them. Like seriously love them. We're the kind of people who don't hang out with outsiders because we like each other so much. I can't tell you how many people in my life and my sisters' lives have commented on how close we are as a family. Everyone should have a family as awesome as mine. In fact, be jealous that you're not a member of my awesome family :)
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| I love family :) |
So, I'm a teacher and member of the World's Best Family and I also have hobbies. OMG! Can you believe how well-rounded I am?? I'm really into books, embroidery, sewing (I'm still learning), and specific TV shows. Because of this, you'll probably see an occasional post about needle 'n' thread stuff, trashy romances, and LOST (I can't help it if LOST is the greatest TV show of all time).
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| I made this!! I heart Sublime Stitching |
But not of these things get to the crux of the title of my not-so-mini biography. This fat girl.
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| I wish this was a thing ... |
I’ve always been overweight. As a pre-teen and teenager I was plump, and then came college. Oh college! How I miss you! I miss your late nights and giggling roommates and massive amounts of alcohol and 10pm pizzas and 2am breakfasts and late night study sessions …
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| Me in college (approx. 2001) |
I put on more than the freshman 15 – maybe the freshman 25, but it wasn’t out of control. What got me was after college. After college I got my first teaching job in a small town in Wyoming.
I hated it.
I hated the mouse-infested apartment, the lack of social life (I was the youngest person on staff at 22 and the next youngest person was 38, and everyone was married – literally every. one.). I hated the fact that I had to drive 50 minutes just to reach a restaurant and 90 minutes to reach a clothing store, and … the list goes on. So my solution? I ate.
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| Me while teaching in Wyoming (approx 2006) |
In 3 years I went from a size 14 to a size 22. I went from being able to buy clothes at a “normal” store to having to seek out “plus-size stores” to even find pants that fit.
After 3 years, I’d had enough so I quit my job and went back to college to get a master’s degree in English. And college! Oh it was fun again! I had so missed the learning and the friendship. The two years I spent learning (and teaching) at university were awesome. I remembered what I loved about literature and what I loved about learning.
Unfortunately, what comes with college? More weight gain. I was back to going out for breakfast after the bar closed and ordering pizza with my roommate and eating frozen dinners because he and I couldn’t afford anything else. After graduate school I was up to a size 26 pant. In five years I went from a size 14 to a size 26.
I headed into my new job teaching high school hoping things would be better than my first job, and it was. From the first moment I started, I knew this was the job for me. The staff was professional and open-minded, the kids were great, and the curriculum was flexible. I loved it so much I’ve stayed for 5 years. What wasn’t so good? Lack of accountability. I was living alone again and found all sorts of excuses not to cook healthy meals.
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| Me (2011) - Storybook Island ... again :) |
I’m just one person.
It’s too expensive.
Vegetables go bad before I can eat them.
If there was an excuse, I had it. I didn’t put on a lot of weight, but I went up another size, this time in the chest area. My bum seems to have maxed out at a size 26 but my boobs keep growing! I topped out at a size 28-30 in shirts.
So now I’ve gone to seeking out plus-size stores, to not even being able to find clothes that fit in a plus-size store.
Have I mentioned I’m only five foot, two inches?
Being fat is a lot of what this blog is, but it's not who I am. It's certainly shaping my recent decision making but it's not going to be the defining thing people remember about me. This may come off as a little braggy, but when I hear students talking about me in the hall it's not "the fat English teacher," it's "OMG Ms. S is funny" or "Gah! Ms. S is so mean!" So while I wrote the most about being fat, it's only because this blog will be chronicling the journey from "this fat girl" to "this no-so-fat girl."
So, overall, who is this fat girl?
She's a happy person. She loves her job. She loves her family. She has passions and interests and is someone who (I hope!!) is fun to be around.
This fat girl is confident in who she is (even if she desirous of change). If people don’t like me because I’m fat then screw them! There are other reasons to not like me (like the fact I can be a sarcastic bitch or that I am sometimes brutally honest or that I am stubborn or ...).
I want to be able to live a full, happy, and active life. I don’t want to l conform to some sort of societal idea of what a woman should look like. Losing weight isn't about that. Even when I do lose weight, I’ll still have curves (these boobs aren't going anywhere!). So as you read this blog, you'll see about my struggles with my weight, my efforts to downsize my life, my interests, my family, and most of a picture of someone who shouldn't be judged by how big she is but by how she lives. And darn it! I think I live pretty well :)
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| OMG! She sews too?? Not that much, but he liked the super hero pillow :) |
She's a happy person. She loves her job. She loves her family. She has passions and interests and is someone who (I hope!!) is fun to be around.
This fat girl is confident in who she is (even if she desirous of change). If people don’t like me because I’m fat then screw them! There are other reasons to not like me (like the fact I can be a sarcastic bitch or that I am sometimes brutally honest or that I am stubborn or ...).
I want to be able to live a full, happy, and active life. I don’t want to l conform to some sort of societal idea of what a woman should look like. Losing weight isn't about that. Even when I do lose weight, I’ll still have curves (these boobs aren't going anywhere!). So as you read this blog, you'll see about my struggles with my weight, my efforts to downsize my life, my interests, my family, and most of a picture of someone who shouldn't be judged by how big she is but by how she lives. And darn it! I think I live pretty well :)
